A vibro-haptic human-machine interface for Structural Health Monitoring applications

Abstract

Over the last 10 years, the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) field has struggled to replace human-based inspections of structures with autonomous sensor networks and classification algorithms. The goal of the SHM community has been to endow structures with an artificial nervous system similar to that of living organisms. This paper proposes a new paradigm which leverages the human nervous system in concert with distributed sensor networks and computational resources. We propose using emerging haptic technology to create a harmonious collaboration between humans, SHM sensor networks, and statistical classification. The neuroscience community has demonstrated haptic-based methods for replacing lost sensations. However, this project explores the possibility of giving humans a new sense - one which reflects the health of a structure. The generation of this sense is achieved through a vibro-haptic human-machine interface. The testbed is composed of a surrogate three-story structure which can be modified to exhibit non-linear dynamic responses on any combination of its three floors. With the use of a vibro-haptic interface, we will study the ability of human users to determine the characteristics of non-linear response. Establishing this intimate connection between humans and structures is the first step in creating a new SHM paradigm that combines human intelligence with distributed measurement capabilities. © The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc. 2013.